Photo: Screeshot of the official website of the Embassy of China in the US

China's necessary countermeasures against the US' imposition of a 10 percent additional tariff on Chinese imports under the pretext of the fentanyl issue are fully justified and reasonable,mk a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in the US said on Tuesday, while urging Washington to address its fentanyl crisis rationally rather than resorting to arbitrary tariff increases.

The spokesperson made the remarks in response to a media inquiry regarding the Customs Tariff Commission of China's State Council's notice on Tuesday on levying additional tariffs on certain imported commodities originating from the US, and China's filing of a complaint at the WTO against the 10 percent tariff imposed by the US on Chinese products. 

"China has taken necessary countermeasures in accordance with relevant laws and regulations and the basic principles of international law, which are completely justified and reasonable. Meanwhile, China has filed a lawsuit with the WTO to firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests," the spokesperson said. 

Regarding the fentanyl issue cited by the US in its decision to impose additional tariff, the spokesperson pointed out that China is one of the world's toughest countries on counternarcotics both in terms of policy and its implementation, while stating that fentanyl is an issue for the US.

In the spirit of humanity and goodwill, China has given support to the US' response to this issue. At the US' request, China announced back in 2019 the decision to officially schedule fentanyl-related substances as a class, and China is the first the country in the world to do so, according to the spokesperson. 

In recent years, China and the US have carried out extensive, practical cooperation in the field of drug control, and made a lot of visual progress in the areas of substance control, information exchange, case cooperation, online advertisement cleanup, drug detection technology exchange, and multilateral interactions, the spokesperson noted.

The spokesperson called on the US to view and solve its own fentanyl issue in an objective and rational way, cherish China's goodwill, instead of threatening other countries with arbitrary tariff hikes. 

"The unilateral tariff increase by the US seriously violates WTO rules and is a typical act of unilateralism and trade protectionism. It undermines the foundation of China-US economic and trade cooperation and is bound to affect and undermine future counternarcotics cooperation between the two sides," the spokesperson noted. 

China calls on the US to correct its wrongdoings, maintain the hard-won positive dynamics in the counternarcotics cooperation, and promote the steady, sound and sustainable development of China-US relationship, said the spokesperson. 

Global Times